Zepto's Aadit Palicha, Mohandas Pai react to Piyush Goyal's comments on Indian startups

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal recently urged Indian startups to move beyond instant delivery apps and focus on high-tech domains such as semiconductors, robotics, AI, and next-gen manufacturing.

Speaking at Startup Mahakumbh, an event being organised by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to promote innovation in in fields such as cybersecurity, AI, robotics, biotech, among others, he criticised the current startup landscape, saying, “We are focused on food delivery apps, turning unemployed youths into cheap labour, so the rich can get their meals without moving out of their house.”

He contrasted this with the success of Chinese startups in developing electric mobility and battery technologies, questioning, “Should we aspire to be, or are we going to be happy being delivery boys and girls?”


Gaurav Munjal’s response

Unacademy CEO Gaurav Munjal on Thursday took to X making a comment in reference to Union minister Piyush Goyal’s remark on Indian startups as well as the ongoing controversy involving Kunal Kamra.

He wrote, “First Comedians, now Startups. We should all have stuck to being Doctors and Engineers.”


Aadit Palicha’s response

In response to Goyal’s remarks, Zepto CEO Aadit Palicha defended India’s consumer internet startups, saying, “It is easy to criticise consumer internet startups in India, especially when you compare them to the deep technical excellence being built in US/China.”

He highlighted Zepto’s impact, noting that it provides livelihoods to nearly 1.5 lakh people, contributes over Rs 1,000 crore in taxes annually, brings in over a billion dollars of FDI, and that it has invested hundreds of crores in strengthening India’s supply chains, particularly for fresh produce.

“If that isn’t a miracle in Indian innovation, I honestly don’t know what is,” he added.


Palicha also pointed out that the reason India doesn’t have a large-scale foundational AI model stems from the fact that the country hasn’t yet built great internet companies. “The startup ecosystem, the government, and the owners of large pools of Indian capital need to actively support the creation of these local champions, not pull down the teams that are trying hard to get there,” he said.

Mohandas Pai’s reply

Former Infosys chief financial officer (CFO) Mohandas Pai also criticised Goyal’s comments and said that he shouldn’t “belittle” India’s startups.

He questioned what Goyal had done as a minister to support deep-tech startups in India and argued that the comparisons with Chinese startups are unfair, as India has its own strong players in these sectors although they are small.

“China invested $845 billion from 2014–2024; India only $160 billion! Why is Minister @PiyushGoyal @AshwiniVaishnaw not helping solve these issues?” Pai asked.

Goyal’s focus on innovation

At the Startup Mahakumbh event, Goyal emphasised the need to channel more domestic capital into future-focused innovations, warning against India becoming merely a service economy for foreign players. He stressed that startups must evolve, compete, and prepare India for the industries of the future